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From the well-endowed model's point of view - Gloria Dawn

Boobs

“Size 32D” announced the clerk in The Bay. A bra size so rare that only one brand made it.

I just turned 14 and soon would start Grade 9. Mother and I travelled to The Bay in Vancouver because no store in New Westminster could provide me with a comfortable bra. To mother, shopping at The Bay represented a great extravagance. She bought all her bras at the dime stores, Kreske’s or Woolworth’s, and couldn’t understand why none of their cheap, standard issue items did not fit me. We even went a step higher, to the New Westminster Woodwards Store, but its lingerie sales clerk was unable to find me a properly fitting bra. She suggested we try The Bay, with its more extensive, more expensive selection.

For a year, I complained of the pain and discomfort caused by ill-fitting bras, and finally mother gave into my pleadings. After that day in The Bay, I never wore a cheap bra again. My large bust, coupled with a small waist, was on full display from then on.

Marilyn Monroe, according to mythology, blossomed in high school, after boys noticed her curvy figure. This never happened to me. I had the curvy figure and wore sweaters to show it off, but the boys at my high school ignored me.

Throughout high school I received none of the benefits of having a large bust, but I continued to suffer the consequences: Straps cutting deep ridges into my shoulders, pain across my back, and poor posture, my rump sticking out one way to balance my top sticking out the other.

Not until moving to Los Angeles at age 19 did men – not boys – begin to notice me. But this new-found attention arose primarily from the fact that I had bleached my brown hair a pale blonde and traded my thick eyeglasses for a pair of contact lens. Now I downplayed my curvy figure, but it was still noticeable through the simple shirt dresses I wore.

In Los Angeles, bra straps continued to cut deep ridges into my shoulders and my upper back pain was so severe that I removed my bra the moment I entered home. We lived in a second floor apartment. I began undoing my bra clasps the second I hit the first floor landing. This habit was so ingrained that one evening, while being escorted home by a date, I began unfastening my bra as we walked up the stairs, then suddenly stopped, realizing I was sending a misleading signal. I quickly closed a couple of open clasps, hoping my date did not notice.

And then I became a nude pin-up model.

It was 1961 and Playboy was at the top of its game. Playboy’s success had spawned numerous imitators. These pseudo-Playboys, collectively called “men’s magazines,” featured busty nude models with a scattering of articles and short stories used as “fillers” to circumvent “obscenity” laws. Stephen King states that he got his start writing short stories for what he called “titty books.” The magazines of 1961 were quite tame by the standards of today’s “adult books,” showing only bare breasts, the pubic area strategically hidden. With the focus on breasts, Los Angeles photographers needed a constant stream of new models with large breasts to meet the demand for new “faces.”

My entry into this world did not come from knocking on the doors of Los Angeles photographers. It came from attending a Creating Writing class at Santa Monica City College. One of my fellow students was Alice Gowland, wife of Peter Gowland, a famous “glamour” photographer. His pin-up pictures of attractive women had adorned countless calendars, books and magazines since the 1940s. As Alice and I were the only two females in the class, we chatted regularly.

Alice made no comments about my curvy figure. After hearing that her husband was a photographer, I expressed my interest in being a “model.” Alice quickly offered me the opportunity to try out for “Cavalier Girl of the Month,” a centerfold for one of the better Playboy knock-offs, Cavalier. I jumped at the chance.

Working with Alice and Peter was easy and lots of fun, and for about eight hours of work, I made $200. My regular salary as a secretary was $325 a month.

The entire photography session took place in Alice and Peter’s luxurious sprawling house, located off Sunset Boulevard in the Santa Monica canyon. While enjoying a break between shooting sessions, an agent arrived at the combination studio/home, hoping to find jobs for his clients. This agent asked me if I had a representative. When I said “no,” he asked if I would like him to try to find me some more work. I said “yes.”

The well - endowed model

What was it like to work as a nude model? It paid well, $50 a day, and the day finished early in the afternoon. Rumours about photographers and their models proved untrue. Many photographers, like Peter Gowland, worked with their wives. All were more interested in getting the perfect picture than in bedding a sexy model, if indeed they even considered their models to be sexy. Photographers hoped to sell their set of pictures for between three and five hundred dollars, but they had to rely on instinct as to what would sell, and their instincts told them that an up-tight model was not saleable.

I found out later, when I was 59, that my breasts were lopsided, one a cup size larger than the other. Looking at pictures, I notice this now, in the few photos taken where I am facing the camera head-on. But no photographer told me I had lopsided breasts. Maybe they thought it would lower my self-esteem and make me appear less “bubbly” in the photos. “Bubbly” sold; worried models did not.

No photographer ever propositioned me or asked me for a date. However, one Art Director developed a crush on me. He purchased a set of photographs for the magazine, Topper, from Ron Vogal, a photographer who frequently employed me. Then Topper hired me for a photo shoot along with two other models and chartered a boat to take pictures at sea. After the shoot, the Art Director phoned for a date. We had three dates, all of which were chaste and proper, until I broke off the relationship. Nonetheless, for the next six months, Topper ran pictures of me – not nudes but face shots strategically placed on inside covers. This man spent a whole day with me when I wore nothing but a tiny bikini bottom, but it wasn’t my breasts he developed a crush on, it was me.

I made the model rounds as a blonde and then, after appearing in most of the magazines, I made the rounds again as a brunette. Working on Saturdays and/or Sundays, while keeping my secretarial job, I was able to save enough money to finance a trip to Africa.

My figure remained curvy until I reached age 40, when I developed a thicker waist. However, my breasts grew larger – until I was a size EE – and caused severe back pain. I hated the wired bras I was forced to wear to support my pendulous breasts.

At age 60 I had breast reduction surgery – down to a more manageable size C. I know several women who were aged 30 to 65 when they underwent this surgical procedure, and all have expressed the opinion: “Hallelujah, free at last!” My surgeon suggested I wear elastic-band-type sports bras for the first three months after the surgery. That was six years ago. Although I no longer have to wear sports bras, I continue to wear them. I’m flat, I’m comfortable, and at age 66 I don’t need to show off my perfectly formed, no longer lopsided, boobs.

Shannon,
Read your bio on the thread with Kevin. Let me just say "Welcome and Thanks for stopping by!". It is really a thrill for a gal who actually was in the industry to come here and address the "gang". A vast majority of us are older guys (Im 54) and we just relish the "good old days" of beautiful pinups and the memories that they bring back. Really interesting to hear about your different names used for spreads as that it a widely discussed topic here. As you can imagine it is not always easy naming a models folder as she might be known by half a dozen names or more!

Best of luck with your memoirs and I certainly hope that more ladies of the past discover this site and realize how many men still revel in their beauty and would love to know more about them!

Thank you, and welcome, Shannon. Do you know what name the editor picked for you? You may have a folder here.

I loved the Stephen King stories! He was published mostly in the big-boob mags. I remember a story from Gem; most of those stories weren't in the horror genre. More along the lines of mobster/crime stories. I don't know how much of the porn of the day you are familiar with; there were several movies where the audience would yell, "Redeeming social importance" when the socially significant material was dropped in. Anyone who has seen Russ Meyer's movie "Vixen" may recall that Erica Gavin broke off from having simulated sex long enough to discuss the merits of the Cuban blockade for thirty seconds.

No trees were harmed to produce this message. However, trillions of electrons were severely inconvenienced.

Marilyn Monroe, according to mythology, blossomed in high school, after boys noticed her curvy figure. This never happened to me. I had the curvy figure and wore sweaters to show it off, but the boys at my high school ignored me.

Wouldn't have happened in my day

Originally Posted by shannon4027

I made the model rounds as a blonde and then, after appearing in most of the magazines, I made the rounds again as a brunette. Working on Saturdays and/or Sundays, while keeping my secretarial job, I was able to save enough money to finance a trip to Africa.

Thanks, great story shannon, just out of curiosity how long did you model for?

First, thank you Charliels531. As I mentioned in another post my name changed as follows:

1. My first modelling job was with Peter Gowland, Cavalier July 1962, and as I initially thought that this was going to be my only modelling job, my real name was used: Gloria Moeser.

2. When I started working with an agent, I thought about it and decided just to use only my first two names -- "Gloria Dawn". I wasn't trying to hide what I was doing -- my boss knew I was modelling, my mother knew I was modelling, etc. But when I thought about it, I realized that if my real name was published, I might get telephone calls from strange men. I was in the telephone book.

3. All my pictures as a blond (after Cavalier) should have been published under the name "Gloria Dawn." The release form that I signed stipulated that this was the name that was to be used with these pictures. If anyone finds a picture of me as a blond under another name, then that name was used in violation of the release form I signed.

4. I modelled for three photographers as a brunette during April-May 1963. Then I went back to being a blond (a bit darker in shade). I cannot remember what name I stipulated on the release form as a brunette model, but a photographer-friend just found a set of pictures of me as a brunette published in a 1965 Jaguar under the name "Mary Hayes." I can understand the change from "Gloria Dawn" to something else -- the magazine wanted its readers to think I was a new model -- but I know that I did not stipulate "Mary Hayes" on the release form. I would have used something meaningful to me -- a combination of friend's and/or relative's names most probably. "Mary Hayes" means nothing to me. So this set of pictures must have been submitted by a photographer who choose the name in violation of my release form. The magazine probably just accepted the photographer's word and didn't check the release form.

5. The reason I am now "Shannon" is because I always hated the name "Gloria" -- I honestly remember hating it when I was 5 years old -- but my mother loved it, and it wasn't until I was 25 years old that I got up the courage to tell her I hated the name she had given me. I had my first name legally changed to Shannon when I was 25. You will never find any pictures of me under the name Shannon, however. I stopped modelling at age 23. Under the name Shannon, you would only find boring academic articles that I published after completing my university degrees. (Actually, you would find them only if you googled "Moeser, S.D.")

Thanks Kevin:

I modelled from January 1962 (the Peter Gowland photo-spread) until August 1963. From January to June 1962, I lived with my mother and 4-year-old son in LA. Then mother decided to move back to Canada, and as she was my son's caretaker, he went with her. I moved into the Hollywood Studio Club. I visited my mother and son in Canada from December 1962 to March 1963, so during that four-month hiatus I didn't do anything, but I started modelling again in April 1963 when I returned to LA and the Hollywood Studio Club.

At your school, you may have ignored a girl with "big breasts" if she was also considered a "brain," wore glasses and got top marks in all the classes. Boys don't like "brainy" girls; men find intelligent women interesting. (I still remember that when I was 39 years old, one of my colleagues said: "I always thought of you as the "thinking man's Marilyn Monroe.")

An honor to get first hand information from a model. This is very rare, 'Shannon'. But I guess you know that.

Thanks you very much for opening up for your bag of memories, facts and history.
There are quite a few persons in this community who are very interested in putting all the pieces together.

If you feel like bringing up more memories you will make many people happy. We will listen with the highest level of attention. And hopefully your information will be stored and remembered.
Everything you can remember from your career and the people you've met is received with thanks and gratitude. Even the smallest fragment of information can help us clear the past for the future.

I didn't see this thread before today. I wondered why Kevin suddenly posted so many images of a model named 'Gloria Dawn' in the picture gallery. Now I know the answer.

I think someone in the Spiderpool group at Yahoo had contacted Peter Gowland for some information of some kind (what it was i don't remember).

Mush

Use the 'THANKS' button if you like a users post.
That will make him happy
...and might encurage him to post more goodies for you to enjoy.ALWAYS looking for model ID's and FACTS!

The Boat Trip

A similar, but not identical, set of photos of the boat trip appeared as the centerfold of the November 1966 issue of Sir magazine. I have enjoyed them for the last 42 years! :smile:Shannon, I am glad to see you are doing well.

I too have a question that has always been on my mind regarding nude modeling - in general.

I know you most likely didn't tell everybody that you did nude modeling. The acceptance of this genre was not general in the society at that time (and still isn't).
A nude model must feel some kind of isolated/alone? If you had a secret you couldn't share with anyone?

The second part of my question is regarding what draws you to become a nude model? Is it the admiration of you as a female being and the exitement? Or is it the money that made the final descission? You mention you almost made earned equal to a month pay during eight hours of work.
Did you ever think of the people that would watch the material you posed in, or was that a minor issue for you?

How much of the material made of you did you ever see your self? Did you receive a copy of the magazines or a set of photos?

And a final question: What makes you step forward after all these years and tell about your model career in this forum? Nostalgia?

I hope I do not affend you in any way by asking. That is not my intention.
Most members (or lurkers) at this site finds your appearence in this forum very exiting and we all feel honored by your presence. Even the quiet ones.

You have been given the VIP Member status as the very first ever as a sign of our gratitude.

Mush

Last edited by Mushashi7; 10-30-2008 at 08:11 AM.

Use the 'THANKS' button if you like a users post.
That will make him happy
...and might encurage him to post more goodies for you to enjoy.ALWAYS looking for model ID's and FACTS!

I want to write a long answer to your question (or actually questions). However, I am currently under a deadline to write a three-page story for my creative writing group, which meets in two days -- Saturday morning. So can you wait for two or three days for an answer?

I was able to post "Boobs" immediately because I wrote it as one of my early creative writing exercises about two years ago.

The creative writing group is meeting at my house this month, so not only do I have to write a story for them (actually a continuing section of my memoir), but also I have to clean up the house (I am not the greatest housekeeper, so the house only gets a thorough cleaning when I have visitors).

I will get back to you in a couple of days, once I have completed my chores.

In response to Winger: I only read the thread on well-endowed women, to which I originally posted "Boobs" so you might look at it from the point of view of well-endowed women and what we have to do. I will read the others, and possibly have some comments, in a few days.

A very interesting and informative thread. Shannon, your contributions are most welcome. Your attitude is really quite refreshing, too many models of the period have closed that part of their lives out and refuse to discuss it. As a result, few of us have had the good fortune of doing more than viewing and lusting after the beauties that Peter Gowland and others provided us with in the pages of Cavalier, Playboy et al.

Yes, we can be a boorish and crass lot. Your presence will temper that.

I, do not remember, your pictorials in Cavalier or Sir. (Before anyone comments about me having a "senior moment", Cavalier and Sir were not available in the college town where I grew up.) Do you know whether or not any of your photos may have been in any of Peter Gowland's photography books? I have several of these from the 50-70s and was curious.

The opportunity to read your comments and gain your prospective is again much appreciated.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

I don't think that any of my photos have been in Peter Gowland's photography books. He used me for that one Cavalier photo spread and never again. I don't think that the Cavalier spread was one of my best because Alice Gowland put wigs on me, and the nude picture used a long, dark haired wig, that to me, looked like a wig. Peter's test photo was better. I'll put it up in my "Gloria Dawn" folder when I have time.

He wouldn't have put that test photo in one of his books because it was "just a test photo."

Most of King's porn mag work was actually published in Cavalier. I had most of them but sold them on Ebay for good money. I still have a copy of King's first published work that he got paid for, Startling Mystery #6. I lost it in the clutter but found it again recently.

I don't think that any of my photos have been in Peter Gowland's photography books. He used me for that one Cavalier photo spread and never again. I don't think that the Cavalier spread was one of my best because Alice Gowland put wigs on me, and the nude picture used a long, dark haired wig, that to me, looked like a wig. Peter's test photo was better. I'll put it up in my "Gloria Dawn" folder when I have time.

He wouldn't have put that test photo in one of his books because it was "just a test photo."

Thanks for the reply. I went through 3 of Peter Gowland's books and was unable to find anything, given the number of photos he took and published during the period, I thought that it would be worth a try. The test photo will be much appreciated.

I believe that your choice of dress in high school was the problem with lack of recognition by the boys in your class. You should have worn a hockey jersey.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Mushashi7 posted a message to this tread asking five questions that I promised to answer. I?ll answer one tonight. I?m not going to answer these questions in order ? the first two require the longest answers and will have to be carefully thought out. I?ll answer an easy one first. Remember my answers are likely to be fairly long ? you?re dealing with someone who worked primarily as a technical writer for the past 35 years. (University professors spend about 70% of their time writing ? at least the successful ones do. If you can?t write, you can?t publish, and if you don?t publish you can?t be a successful university professor.):rolleyes:

One of Muchashi7's questions was:

Did you ever think of the people that would watch the material you posed in, or was that a minor issue for you?

I have an amusing story you may enjoy that also answers Muchashi7's question.

In July 1962, I was excitedly awaiting publication of my first photo spread ? the Peter Gowland Cavalier issue. Peter had told me I would appear June 1962 but he must have missed a deadline because when I went to pick up the June 1962 issue, I wasn?t featured. I anxiously anticipated publication of the July 1962 magazine, fearing that somehow I hadn?t made the grade and wasn?t going to appear at all.:eek:

Just at this time, my mother and son had moved back to British Columbia. I followed them in early July to ensure they got settled. (I left my belongings and car stored in LA because I was returning to LA.)

Thus, I was in BC when July?s Cavalier came out. I still remember standing in the Vancouver Eaton store, in the magazine section, when I spotted the new Cavalier. I picked it up and flipped to the centre section. There I was in all my nude glory.

As I stood looking at my pictures, a middle-aged man also picked up the magazine. (He was probably in his late thirties, which was middle-aged to 21-year-old me.) He also flipped to the centre pictures and stared at them. He was standing right beside me and I guess I expected him to go ?Oh? or say something, or at stare in a state of amazement. No! After a brief glance my way ? I was standing close ? he went over to the cashier to pay for the magazine, still staring at the pictures, and left. He ignored the real person standing beside him and at age 21 I still looked pretty good, even with my clothes on.

This incident started me thinking about readers of these magazines, and I realized that the pictures fuelled these readers? fantasy worlds. The readers weren?t interested in meeting the real girls ? the pictures simply nourished their daydreams.

So I never really though much again about the readers. I was just an accessory to their imaginations.

For this internet group, categorizing, rating and examining the various attributes of models has become a hobby. You?ve moved beyond the fantasy level to the analytical level. But most readers back in the 60's just looked at the girls and fantasized.:smile:

Was Picture "Flopped"?

This is in reply to Javelin?s comment on the centerfold picture of me and two other girls on the boat cruise:

A similar, but not identical, photo appeared as the centerfold of the November 1966 issue of Sir magazine. In the Sir centerfold Shannon's arm is in a different position, and the ladies are arranged in opposite order ( I think one of the photos has been ?flopped?).

I cannot remember posing for this centerfold picture, so I don?t know whether Ron Vogel ?flopped? the picture for the Sir magazine centerfold, or whether he took two pictures, one with me on the left and one with me on the right.

I do know, however, that the picture posted from the September issue of Topper was not ?flopped.? I know this because I am left-handed and wear my watch on my right hand. If you look carefully at the picture, you can see a tan mark on my right wrist.

Look at the Sir magazine picture. If the watch tan mark is on my left hand, then the picture was ?flopped.? If the tan mark is on my right hand, then Ron took two different pictures.

[/QUOTE]At your school, you may have ignored a girl with "big breasts" if she was also considered a "brain," wore glasses and got top marks in all the classes. Boys don't like "brainy" girls; men find intelligent women interesting. (I still remember that when I was 39 years old, one of my colleagues said: "I always thought of you as the "thinking man's Marilyn Monroe.")[/QUOTE]

To me a girl with brains and a big chest is hitting the jackpot. Sure the physical stuff is fun, but if there isn't intelligent conversation to go along with that, what's the point.

And at my school, there were no brainy girls, no girls with big chests or girls of any kind. All boys high schools suck for that reason. :frown:

Mushashi7 posted a message to this tread asking five questions that I promised to answer. I’ll answer one tonight. I’m not going to answer these questions in order – the first two require the longest answers and will have to be carefully thought out. I’ll answer an easy one first. Remember my answers are likely to be fairly long – you’re dealing with someone who worked primarily as a technical writer for the past 35 years. (University professors spend about 70% of their time writing – at least the successful ones do. If you can’t write, you can’t publish, and if you don’t publish you can’t be a successful university professor.):rolleyes:

I have an amusing story you may enjoy that also answers Muchashi7's question.

In July 1962, I was excitedly awaiting publication of my first photo spread – the Peter Gowland Cavalier issue. Peter had told me I would appear June 1962 but he must have missed a deadline because when I went to pick up the June 1962 issue, I wasn’t featured. I anxiously anticipated publication of the July 1962 magazine, fearing that somehow I hadn’t made the grade and wasn’t going to appear at all.:eek:

Just at this time, my mother and son had moved back to British Columbia. I followed them in early July to ensure they got settled. (I left my belongings and car stored in LA because I was returning to LA.)

Thus, I was in BC when July’s Cavalier came out. I still remember standing in the Vancouver Eaton store, in the magazine section, when I spotted the new Cavalier. I picked it up and flipped to the centre section. There I was in all my nude glory.

As I stood looking at my pictures, a middle-aged man also picked up the magazine. (He was probably in his late thirties, which was middle-aged to 21-year-old me.) He also flipped to the centre pictures and stared at them. He was standing right beside me and I guess I expected him to go “Oh” or say something, or at stare in a state of amazement. No! After a brief glance my way – I was standing close – he went over to the cashier to pay for the magazine, still staring at the pictures, and left. He ignored the real person standing beside him and at age 21 I still looked pretty good, even with my clothes on.

This incident started me thinking about readers of these magazines, and I realized that the pictures fuelled these readers’ fantasy worlds. The readers weren’t interested in meeting the real girls – the pictures simply nourished their daydreams.

So I never really though much again about the readers. I was just an accessory to their imaginations.

For this internet group, categorizing, rating and examining the various attributes of models has become a hobby. You’ve moved beyond the fantasy level to the analytical level. But most readers back in the 60's just looked at the girls and fantasized.:smile:

Thanks for your answer, Shannon.

You really didn't give it much though I feel. Just for a short while and then it was solved.

I can reflect on that. I admire a womans beauty in pictures but I don't think I would like to get in physical contact with her just like that. The reptile part of my brain is controlled by an etchical filter. Although I think I couldn't resist at least giving you a warm smile before I turned away with my magazine. But that wouldn't be an invitation, just an expression of approval.

As a footnote I can add that I in general really don't like 'hard soft-core' pictures revealing everything. It takes the beauty and exitement away, and leaves only basic lust left.
Nothing wrong with this, after all it is a major part of man's brain activity he can't turn off, but I like to admire the rest of the woman. I like to see her a a princess, something unique.
I know I am a bit oldfashioned in many ways, but there has to be more in life than just straight on and down to basics.

As for turning into 'categorizing, rating and examining the various attributes of models' you are right. We are persons who has had an interest in this subject since we were young teenagers.
But now that we are 'not so young and beautiful', but only beautiful ( ) you have seen it all so to speak. And the historical issue is more interesting to many of us.
Collecting, just like stamps. Looking at the beautiful images.
I collected magazines since I was 12 or 13 I think. Starting with the lingerie models in the main women magazines. Up through the years the harder and more revealing magazines came on the market.
I ended up in having a shop where I as a part of the merchandise also dealt in porn. I feel I have seen too much perhaps. But the 1960's and and backwards in time are the most beautiful eras.
Hollywood glamour, french postcards, the burlesque and the cheesecake period.

I wait patiently for your other answers - if and when you feel like answering them.

Mush

Last edited by Mushashi7; 11-02-2008 at 07:54 AM.

Use the 'THANKS' button if you like a users post.
That will make him happy
...and might encurage him to post more goodies for you to enjoy.ALWAYS looking for model ID's and FACTS!

Sir Flopped!

Originally Posted by shannon4027

This is in reply to Javelin?s comment on the centerfold picture of me and two other girls on the boat cruise:

I cannot remember posing for this centerfold picture, so I don?t know whether Ron Vogel ?flopped? the picture for the Sir magazine centerfold, or whether he took two pictures, one with me on the left and one with me on the right.

I do know, however, that the picture posted from the September issue of Topper was not ?flopped.? I know this because I am left-handed and wear my watch on my right hand. If you look carefully at the picture, you can see a tan mark on my right wrist.

Look at the Sir magazine picture. If the watch tan mark is on my left hand, then the picture was ?flopped.? If the tan mark is on my right hand, then Ron took two different pictures.

I have conducted the requested examination and can now definitively conclude that the Sir centerfold was indeed "flopped" as the non-tan mark appears on Shannon's left wrist. I must admit that in the decades I have looked at the picture I have never had cause to examine her wrists!

Dr. Moeser: thank you very much for participating in these discussions, as I, and many others I'm sure have wondered "what ever became of..." many of the ladies who were the objects of our imaginations. Although I very much doubt that many have earned their B.A.; M.A.; PhD.; M.B.A. and become a Professor of Psychology at a University as you have, congratulations on an interesting life and and career.

Magazines and their models

How much of the material made of you did you ever see yourself? Did you receive a copy of the magazines or a set of photos?

Usually we never knew when and where our pictures would appear. We received payment for a photo shoot and that was that.

Ron Vogel was an exception. He sometimes told me where he sold my pictures ? although I found the Modern Man centerfold on my own. Ron also gave me some B&W glossies to use for my portfolio.

Another photographer ? Michael LeRoy ? gave me three B&W glossies of pictures he took of me as a brunette, and phoned to tell me when he sold my pictures, but by the time they were published I was in Africa and never found the magazine.

Peter Gowland took the photo spread specifically for Cavalier. He had a contract with the magazine to find new (fresh) models. As this was my first photo spread, I was paid higher ($200) for the job. (Ron paid $60 for a day?s shoot; the other photographers paid $50 a day. This may not seem like much now, but in today?s dollars ? taking into account inflation ? $60 for a day?s shoot in 1962 would be equal to $436 in 2008, or about $62 an hour. Remember most of the models were office workers, store clerks, etc. and not making large wages.)

Other than the money, however, there was not much reward. The magazines ignored us. They didn?t know our real names, and we never received copies of the issues in which we appeared.:frown:

Only Playboy took care of its models. Its centerfold girls were offered jobs with the magazine if they wanted to continue to work in the industry. These models worked at Playboy clubs or in promotion. (I still remember the excitement caused at Capitol Records, where I was working as a secretary, when a Playboy centerfold model came to call. I never saw her, but everyone was talking about the promotional visit.) This way, Playboy kept its models exclusive ? they only appeared in Playboy.

The other magazines were not as kind to its models. And so you find models appearing for a year or two and then dropping out.

Why Step Forward?

Mushashi7 asked:

What makes you step forward after all these years and tell about your model career in this forum? Nostalgia?

I have always been interested in writing. As mentioned previously, I spent much of my career as a technical writer. After retiring, I returned to BC and started new activities. I met a woman (in an exercise class) who belonged to a creative writing group and she invited me to join. (Participants, by the way, were aged 66 to 90.)

As a member of this group, I had to produce one 10-15 minute ?story? each month. Great! Now, I was a member, what could I write about? It wasn?t hard to decide. All the ladies were writing stories of their past ? memoirs. Some wrote short vignettes, others presented episodes that were part of a longer story they were writing. I started with a couple of short narratives about five-year-old me ? my earliest memories. Then, I wrote ?Boobs.? After presenting ?Boobs,? I began to focus on the period my memoir would explore ? my activities from age 16 to age 25. (I call it my ?leap before I look? period.:redface:)

Writing a memoir involves research. After 40 - 50 years, names have been forgotten, visual details are fuzzy, specific dates need to be verified, etc. All the ladies, even those 80+, are internet experts. It helps to have pictures, letters, etc. to jog the memory.

I had a portfolio of pictures from my modelling days, but nowhere near a full collection of the magazine pictures that had appeared. I used Google to search the internet for possible vintage magazines that might contain my pictures. I found one ? Escapade, December 1963 ? containing pictures I had never seen. Googling for a specific name, in my case ?Gloria Dawn,? can be a long, arduous process because the search engine found dozens of Gloria Dawn?s before it located one relating to me. So I didn?t google my modelling name often, and I didn?t get any more hits.

A few months ago, I discovered it was easier to search eBay for vintage pinup magazines. On September 15th, I discovered a listing for Modern Man that contained my picture. I had one copy of this Ron Vogel centerfold, but my copy was wrinkled and torn, and I wanted a less blemished copy for my collection (and the complete magazine, not just the picture I tore from the magazine). However, the eBay seller, who you know on this internet site as ?jgabby,? stated in his listing that he would only ship to the US. So I contacted him, via eBay, asking if he would ship to Canada, stating that I wanted this issue because I was the centerfold model.

Thus began an e-mail correspondence. Jgabby graciously sent the magazine to me free of charge, asking only that I send back a second copy autographed.

As jgabby was a collector, buyer and seller of vintage pinup magazines, I asked if he would keep his eyes open for magazines featuring my pictures. I mentioned I had modelled for a couple of photographers as a brunette but never seen magazine spreads in which I appeared as a brunette. Jgabby found the Jaguar spread. (I am certain it is me, because one of the B&W?s in the spread shows me taking off my own dress ? I have a non-nude picture of me in that dress ? and another B&W displays the mole on my left back shoulder ? a mole I had since age 14.)

Jgabby also told me that he found images of me on the My Archives Vintage Porn website and attached its URL. This is how I discovered your group.

So, it is not so much a case of my suddenly ?stepping forward.? I have been working on a memoir for two years; I have been searching for magazines containing my pictures for two years. I discovered this site by accident. If jgabby had shipped to Canada, I would simply have bid on the magazine and never started the correspondence that led to my ?speaking up.?

Probably other models from the 60's would ?step forward? also if they knew about this site. Once a person reaches age 60, she usually doesn't feel the need to keep secrets.

I am not saying that you would get a stampede of former 60's models visiting this website, but you would probably get a few. Two barriers stop most of these older models from ?stepping forward?:

1.

Many people my age are reluctant to try new ways of using the internet. For example, I have had a hard time getting my friends ? that is, people I know well ? to join Facebook. Even those friends with whom I correspond regularly by e-mail are reluctant to try something different. So I am obliged to become ?friends? with their children/grandchildren and hope that these children/grandchildren periodically relay my news and show my photos to their mother/father/grandmother. (Sorry group, the pictures are of my cats, grandchildren and travels, and all you would find out is that Michael Connelly is one of my favourite authors, Taxi Driver and Hotel Rwanda are two of my favourite movies, and that I really, really like the blues. ?Buddy Guy is coming to town on November 10th and I got my ticket two minutes after they went on sale.? No interesting information about my modelling days on Facebook.):smile:

2.

Any model searching for pictures of herself would not find this website if she simply typed her modelling name into the Google search engine. Google is the best we have right now, but it is still an imperfect search tool. I consider myself a fairly sophisticated user of the internet, but I would never have found this group if it hadn?t been for jgabby. He is in the business of collecting and selling vintage men?s magazines, and so would know the right ?tags? to use to search for these items.

Usually we never knew when and where our pictures would appear. We received payment for a photo shoot and that was that.

Ron Vogel was an exception. He sometimes told me where he sold my pictures ? although I found the Modern Man centerfold on my own. Ron also gave me some B&W glossies to use for my portfolio.

Another photographer ? Michael LeRoy ? gave me three B&W glossies of pictures he took of me as a brunette, and phoned to tell me when he sold my pictures, but by the time they were published I was in Africa and never found the magazine.

Peter Gowland took the photo spread specifically for Cavalier. He had a contract with the magazine to find new (fresh) models. As this was my first photo spread, I was paid higher ($200) for the job. (Ron paid $60 for a day?s shoot; the other photographers paid $50 a day. This may not seem like much now, but in today?s dollars ? taking into account inflation ? $60 for a day?s shoot in 1962 would be equal to $436 in 2008, or about $62 an hour. Remember most of the models were office workers, store clerks, etc. and not making large wages.)

Other than the money, however, there was not much reward. The magazines ignored us. They didn?t know our real names, and we never received copies of the issues in which we appeared.:frown:

Only Playboy took care of its models. Its centerfold girls were offered jobs with the magazine if they wanted to continue to work in the industry. These models worked at Playboy clubs or in promotion. (I still remember the excitement caused at Capitol Records, where I was working as a secretary, when a Playboy centerfold model came to call. I never saw her, but everyone was talking about the promotional visit.) This way, Playboy kept its models exclusive ? they only appeared in Playboy.

The other magazines were not as kind to its models. And so you find models appearing for a year or two and then dropping out.

That's interesting, because it's the same as the situation with American Art Enterprises/ Parliament News in Chatsworth. Usually even the photographer wouldn't know in advance which magazines were going to publish any particular model's work.

The rate of pay was the same, too: $50 a day, which was good pay at the time, but not the fabulous wealth that magazine editors claimed.

I've stayed in touch with a few of the models I knew back in the day; I've tried to persuade Mary Waters to consider doing a retro/modern site like Michelle Angelo or Candy Samples, but she has decided not to do that. Rosalie Strauss told me that she couldn't understand why men were still interested in her pictures...

Last edited by charliels531; 11-03-2008 at 06:37 PM.

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Blues, eh? You hit me right on the bullseye with that one! I have played harmonica for many years both professionally and for the pure fun of it. I just recently took up slide guitar and bought myself a resonator (dobro) which has that Mississippi Delta sound.

Buddy Guy is a particular favorite of mine and have seen him numerous times through the years, mostly when he teamed up with the late Junior Wells. I even caught him with Junior and his brother Phil at a tiny roadhouse here in NJ back in the 80's...what a show! Yup, love dem blues!

We gotta figure a way to put in meta tags so that this site comes up when you google names and things like "retro" and "vintage". Most of the ladies we admire have by now entered the computer age and "googling" ones name is pretty comonplace. You are an amazing diamond in the rough so there has got to be lots more just waiting to hang out with us old geezers!